• Naughty Dog is working on a new IP “zombie” type action / adventure game called The Last of Us.
• Epic Games is working on a new IP called Fortnite.  The trailer makes it look like a tower defense games of sorts.
• Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is now being worked on by Platinum Games.
• Rainbow Six: Patriots is coming in 2012.
• Alan Wake’s American Nightmare hits XBLA in 2012.
• Command & Conquer: Generals 2 is being developer by Bioware.
• A new Amazing Spider Man game is coming in 2012.
• Transformers: Fall of Cybertron coming in 2012.
• The Diablo 3 intro cinematic made it’s debut.
• …other assorted trailers for game you already knew were coming out.

• Game of the Year – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Best Action / Adventure Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best XBOX 360 Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best Adapted Video Game – Batman: Arkham City
• Best PS3 Game: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
• Best Graphics – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
• Best Wii Game – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Best Motion Game – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• Best Fighting Game – Mortal Kombat
• Best Independent Game – Minecraft
• Best Handheld / Mobile Game – Super Mario 3D Land
• Best Song in a Game – Bastion
• Best Original Score – Bastion
• Best Downloadable Game – Bastion
• Best Individual Sports Game – Fight Night Champion
• Best PC Game – Portal 2
• Best Multiplayer Game – Portal 2
• Best Downloadable Content – Portal 2
• Best Performance by a Human Male – Portal 2
• Best Performance by a Human Female – Portal 2
• Best Driving Game – Forza Motorsport 4
• Best Shooter – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
• Character of the Year – The Joker
• Best RPG – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Studio of the Year – Bethesda Game Studios

This game is number one on my list because it was simply the most fun game I played this year.  Sure, the game had bugs galore and the AI was busted, but look at everything that you could do while playing the game.  Aside from MMO’s, no game offered the flexibility of character creation and leveling options.  You could basically make any character you wanted and treat NPCs any way you wanted dealing with the consequences as they came.

The graphics were the best of any of The Elder Scrolls games and frankly one of the best games ever for the 360.  There were texture pop-in issues as well as insanely long loading times as well, but these were all negated if the game was installed to the hard drive. 

The music and overall sound were just phenomenal.  The changes in music really evoked the mode the game was trying to portray during the cutscenes.  To put it simply, you knew when something was going to go bad or a dragon was going to swoop in for the attack.  You also knew when something good was going to happen, like a reward for a quest, or an NPC coming out of nowhere to give you a letter with money in it for no good reason.  The sound provided the cues for all of these situations.  Not to mention the Nordic chanting sequence that the game is known for is simply amazing as well.

I sank 115hrs+ into this game in 2 weeks time.  I have a job and other games to play through or it would have been much more.  I finished the entire main storyline, companions, mage guild, thieves guild and dark brotherhood quest lines as well as all 1,000 achievement points.  In that entire time, I only encountered one bug that almost caused me to stop playing that character and restart fresh.  Fortunately, I didn’t restart and I kept moving forward.  Finishing a different quest line re-jiggered the bugged NPC and all was well.

Bethesda is no stranger to buggy games.  All of The Elder Scrolls games were bug ridden as well as Fallout 3, but you’d think since 1994, they’d have ways of crushing some of the similar issues each game had.  I guess because the games are so huge that it’s just not possible.  I personally don’t buy that, but the game was still awesome; bugs and all.

Here are some of my pros and cons on the game.  This obviously won’t be everything, but it’ll give you a good idea of what I look for in games.  My rating is below as well.

Pros:

• Flexible character creation and customization
• Numerous dialog options
• Massive world with tons of things to do and see
• Excellent writing
• Breath-taking vistas and graphics
• Fantastic soundscape and music
• Great voice over work by the whole cast
• Best bang for the buck
• Fast travel and horses
• Combat is fun and engaging
• Dual-Wielding weapons and spells
• Decisions felt meaningful

Cons:

• Lots and lots of bugs; some funny and some just plain awful
• Texture pop-in issues
• Long load times
• Busted companion AI
• Busted enemy AI in spots
• Horse death is just plain stupid

Rating: 9.5/10 – X360

Without further ado, here are my top 10 video games of 2011 along with the platform I played them on:

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (X360)
2. Saint’s Row: The Third (X360)
3. Bastion (XBLA)
4. To the Moon (PC)
5. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (PC)
6. Portal 2 (X360)
7. Uncharted 3 (PS3)
8. Total War: Shogun 2 (PC)
9. Rayman: Origins (X360)
10. Shadows of the Damned (X360)

My 5 (or 6 in this case) honorable mentions include:

• Batman: Arkham City (X360)
• L.A. Noire (X360)
• Dark Souls (X360)
• Gears of War 3 (X360)
• Catherine (X360) or Rift (PC) – too close to call

These may not be the highest rated games for the year, but they are indeed the games I found to be the most fun and entertaining for a variety of reasons. 

I’ll have an individual post for each of my top 10 video games that will contain what I found to be either interesting or annoying coming in the next few days.